EDITOR,—In common with many of Jim Raftery's friends, I was extremely disappointed by his obituary in the BMJ, which, after editing, did not portray him as I knew him.1 Jim's setting up of one of the first successful deputising services in general practice in the late 1960s and early ‘70s was an enormous achievement. Instead of receiving accolades, however, he was criticised, although all general practitioners who used the service have acknowledged its tremendous impact. Jim was …